Page 59 of Just One Chance

It was always intense between us, but this was something more. We were moving into something else entirely. I felt warm and tingly all over. I wanted to cuddle up with him and stay. That was the scariest feeling of all.

I wanted to stay here forever.

That was crazy.

This time we didn't have to move apart to take care of a condom, but I felt the stickiness between my thighs. "I should clean up⁠—"

"I'll get it." He moved first, getting up to go to the bathroom. I heard the water running. A few seconds later, he returned with a wet washcloth. "Let me."

I spread my legs for him, allowing him to clean me. It felt intimate, tender even. When he was done, he tossed it to the side of the room and gathered me into his arms. "Stay tonight."

"I always do."

He kissed my temple. "I feel like I'm asking for more for some reason."

"Why is that?" Why did this feel different? Were we catching the feelings we promised ourselves we wouldn't?

Was this something more than either of us saw coming? No matter how we felt, it wouldn't change anything.

"I don't know." He sounded as perplexed as I did.

I had to be able to walk away from him. The last time I hooked up with someone I worked with, it was a disaster. I was fired, and my reputation had been in tatters. It was hard to build my business on the remnants of that situation. People didn't take me seriously at first, assuming that Shane had been the one to make the suggestions at my previous hotel.

I had to rebuild my reputation, and I didn't want to make that same mistake again. Then there was the geographical distance and the fact that he'd only asked me to stay the night.

"I'll stay every night with you until I have to leave." Why did the thought of leaving hurt so much? This was supposed to be purely physical. I wasn't supposed to get attached or feel anything.

But it felt good to be with him now, secure in his arms. I'd worry about everything else on another day when I was back in Miami. When I was staring at my view of the ocean, I'd feel good that I'd helped another hotel and added one more job to my record.

Eventually, I'd forget about Boone. Our time together would fade into the past like everything did. This wasn't different from any other relationship.

Besides, business came first. That was the hard lesson I had learned. My security came before anything else.

17

BOONE

Every night we spent together turned into something bigger. I couldn't help but feel like I was completely out of my depth. So I buried myself in work. I was a little behind, and I had a few new things to work on with my plans to be more intentional with my business.

I was aware that Kennedy was researching and making her decisions. I didn't want to be near her when she was doing that. Her work was separate from our nights together.

It was late when my door opened and Beck walked in. The only people who wouldn't bother to knock were my brothers and Beck. My parents never stopped by unannounced.

I pushed my goggles onto my forehead. "Beck, what are you doing here?"

"Thought I'd check in and see how you're doing."

"I'm good. Just getting caught up on a few things." I pulled the goggles off, figuring he'd stick around for a while and chat. "You want a beer?"

"Sure."

I grabbed two from the fridge I kept in the back and led the way through the door to the back yard. I'd put some logs to sit on, and there was a fire pit in the middle. I handed him a beer and started a fire.

When it was burning, I sat down on one of the benches near him. "What's up?"

"The brewery opening has been better than I anticipated. We don't seem to have slow days. A lot of people are stopping by after work each day, and we're booked with group tastings on the weekend."

"This is what you wanted. Are you feeling like it's time to move onto something else?" He used to travel with his consulting work. When he met and fell in love with Clara, he decided to stay and be more involved with the brewery.